Will this help or push rates into the crapper?

I've known about this deal for a couple years. Before I was a driver I did some consulting work for an Oracle subsidiary and knew they were going to be investing heavily in freight logistics. Working for them is why I chose to get into trucking after retiring from a 30 year career in insurance marketing.

At this point, apps like Convoy, Uber and now this one are good for O/O's. As their market share increases and more shippers start using their services, it will decrease the broker's share of the market, and make finding loads much easier for us. No more leftovers after the brokers hand out the good loads to their preferred customers. The loads get posted on the open market and the first person who sees it gets the load. No dickering on price and no factoring to get your money in a reasonable time frame after it's delivered. Everything is automated including detention and layover pay.

There will always be bottom feeders that will take a load at $1 per mile or less, but the longer I use these apps the more I see shippers begin to see the advantages. I've talked to a number of shippers that use the apps and they love them. I'm not very worried about Amazon getting into general freight too much because they're more concerned with moving their own freight for as cheap as possible, and they aren't interested in what everybody else is doing. Hopefully it stays that way.

If anybody should be worried about these new systems it's brokers. I think the freight brokering industry is going to slowly disappear over the next decade.

 

Bottom line people and the jobs they perform are a "commodity", until the robots can do the work for almost free.

 

Interesting perspective.

With what you’re saying I could see the gap of what people are getting now get more narrow which I don’t like. I want repeat loads and to work with brokers who pay me more because of my service.

 

Actually I see just the opposite happening. For instance, my very first load with Uber a couple months ago I hauled a load of pork from Missouri to California. When I delivered, I had a chance to talk with the lady who booked the load through Uber. She said it was also her first load using them and she was very happy knowing where I was every step of the way and not having to go through a broker with questions and negotiating rates. I booked the load 10 minutes after she posted it on Uber, and she knew all of my stats the second I accepted the load. She also said that she had 4 of those loads a week and would I be interested in covering one of those loads each week. It was tempting because it paid well, but I wasn't interested because that's not my normal lane. I can easily see how business relationships and direct clients can develop out of using these apps.

 

That’s good information to have. I was under the impression that they only can post it in the open market and can’t give it to you specifically. It’ll be interesting how it plays out.

I’m certain I would prefer more human interaction and support but the people who came before me probably would be resistant to how things are today. This is something it seems I’ll need to navigate and dedicate some resources to making sure we’re keeping up with.

 

You have no concept of anything.

I am paying my fellow American the most money I possibly can. Your missing the point of how cheap labor lowers rates which is counter productive in being able to afford higher pay and pay raises. This creates stagnation and no wage growth to even wage decreases. It’s why pay hasn’t kept up with inflation. Only in the last year or so have wages began to outpace inflation. So, what I’m concerned about IS my people’s “bottom line” and not just my own. That’s the whole point here.

You and I will never agree on anything no matter how many times we go round and round. And that’s ok.

 

I didn't think that made much sense either and I wasn't gonna touch it with a ten foot pole lol.

 

#### it, imma take a stab at it.
So when it comes to paying drivers more....you need decent rates right? Right now we appear to be in a race to the bottom...who can afford to do that? Is it the Joe's Trucking with three trucks hauling strawberries and oranges out of Florida for 1.85 a mile? The guy who does hire local drivers? Or is it *insert your favorite mega here* that has a few thousand trucks with lower costs on fuel, insurance, maintenance, cheaper access to trucks, etc that promises you the world and will have you from zero experience to truck driver making a fortune in your first year? How does Joe's Trucking compete with that? What is the stereotype of the guys not paying ####? Is it Joe's Trucking or is it a fleet spec cascadia with a guy that was flipping burgers last week behind the wheel? Or is it a white Volvo owned by a guy in a track suit with his cousins sisters boyfriend from the old country that he is sponsoring a visa for? Is it one of the world's largest corporations that gave a guy who knows nothing about the industry a letter of intent so he could buy five trucks he can't afford? This thread wasn't started for you to attack people, it was started so I could get everyone's opinion on how this new technology will affect owner operators because I am curious...I've always been a company guy so I don't know but I would like to learn. How would you know if someone is paying as much as they reasonably can? Are you an owner operator? Have you tried or been affected by this new technology? What percentage are you paying your employees?

 

But union days are long gone, slowly replaced by robots and moving factories out of the US for cheaper labor.

As much as I want to say that current vets are safe with their $3-$4 pm dry van loads, they are not, as the older generation retires and new management comes into these companies they are more tech savvy there for more inclined to use these services.

The owner operators will not win on this as its a lot cheaper to pay $0.35cpm to a driver then it is an owner operator.

Brokers and O/O’s will be on the losing end. Why? Because Megas can offer capacity to Amazon.

And if an owner operator can survive on 2.50 a mile megas sure as hell can on $2.0 mile or less.

Example,


2.50 rpm

O/O pays himself $1.00 pm. $1.00 pm for operation costs and the .50pm for savings


Mega pays driver 0.60 pm 1.00pm for operation costs and .90 pm for savings


But let’s be realistic 0.60 pm is on the high side, more like 0.45 average.


If I’m wrong let me know I’ll revise numbers.

 

You know, I get what @zinita17601 is saying. Yes, immigrants take jobs but they also eat and use all the products we deliver, thus creating more work.

In theory, the market should grow to accommodate the extra drivers, provided that both the market and the additional drivers grow at the same pace.

Unfortunately, that is not the current situation.

Immigrant drivers are flooding the trucking industry, many of whom are unqualified to legally operate a CMV.

This excess capacity is forcing rates down in the short-term.

But, if current laws are enforced requiring ALL drivers to be able to adhere to the standards set by the FMCSA, specifically the language comprehension standards, the game will change dramatically.

There will be far fewer immigrants qualified to operate a CMV, yet there will still be the immigrant consumer growth that drives demand and rates upward.

I know it seems strange but, if you think about it from an economic viewpoint, every single restriction placed on the trucking industry only serves to decrease capacity and raise rates.

For instance, if we were limited to 65mph nationwide, rates would increase to accommodate the restriction because people wouldn't eat fewer Cheetos, there would just be fewer available trucks to deliver them.

We would be paid the same for our time.

If you don't believe me, just think back at CVSA roadcheck week or 4th of July week. Drivers park the trucks and rates spike.

Like I said, it's weird to think about restrictions being beneficial to us but, so long as everyone plays by the same rules, the rules actually serve to boost our pay, not cut it.

So, maybe we should, instead of lamenting the flood of immigrants into the U.S., welcome them as new consumers yet absolutely require that they adhere to the same standards that we adhere to when looking to begin a career in trucking.